Black LGBT Activists Discuss Steps After Marriage

Black LGBT Activists Discuss Steps After Marriage
An Indian gay-rights activist gestures behind a flag during a protest against the Supreme Court ruling reinstating a ban on gay sex in Bangalore on December 11, 2013. India's Supreme Court reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex on that could see homosexuals jailed for up to ten years in a major setback for rights campaigners in the world's biggest democracy. AFP PHOTO/Manjunath KIRAN (Photo credit should read Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images)
An Indian gay-rights activist gestures behind a flag during a protest against the Supreme Court ruling reinstating a ban on gay sex in Bangalore on December 11, 2013. India's Supreme Court reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex on that could see homosexuals jailed for up to ten years in a major setback for rights campaigners in the world's biggest democracy. AFP PHOTO/Manjunath KIRAN (Photo credit should read Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images)

A group of about 50 community activists and service providers, many of them affiliated with organizations serving African American LGBT community members, gathered Dec. 21 at the headquarters of the Chicago Urban League, 4510 S. Michigan Ave., for a forum assessing what issues they should address now that marriage equality is on its way to Illinois.

Some activists from the African American LGBT community regard the push for marriage equality as a promising moment when individuals and organizations were able to set aside differences and work for a common goal. Now that the goal has largely been won in Illinois, many people want to see that momentum applied to other initiatives.

"This is the first time in 30 years that we've had the chance to coalesce," said activist Michael O'Connor.

The forum was divided into three policy sessions addressing issues pertinent to the Black LGBT community: School Environment and Health Care Access; Criminal Justice; and Economics and Employment Discrimination.

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